Correlation between hierarchical structure of crystal networks and macroscopic performance of mesoscopic soft materials and engineering principles.

This review examines how the concepts and ideas of crystallization can be extended further and applied to the field of mesoscopic soft materials. It concerns the structural characteristics vs. the macroscopic performance, and the formation mechanism of crystal networks. Although this subject can be discussed in a broad sense across the area of mesoscopic soft materials, our main focus is on supramolecular materials, spider and silkworm silks, and biominerals. First, the occurrence of a hierarchical structure, i.e. crystal network and domain network structures, will facilitate the formation kinetics of mesoscopic phases and boost up the macroscopic performance of materials in some cases (i.e. spider silk fibres). Second, the structure and performance of materials can be correlated in some way by the four factors: topology, correlation length, symmetry/ordering, and strength of association of crystal networks. Moreover, four different kinetic paths of crystal network formation are identified, namely, one-step process of assembly, two-step process of assembly, mixed mode of assembly and foreign molecule mediated assembly. Based on the basic mechanisms of crystal nucleation and growth, the formation of crystal networks, such as crystallographic mismatch (or noncrystallographic) branching (tip branching and fibre side branching) and fibre/polymeric side merging, are reviewed. This facilitates the rational design and construction of crystal networks in supramolecular materials. In this context, the (re-)construction of a hierarchical crystal network structure can be implemented by thermal, precipitate, chemical, and sonication stimuli. As another important class of soft materials, the unusual mechanical performance of spider and silkworm silk fibres are reviewed in comparison with the regenerated silk protein derivatives. It follows that the considerably larger breaking stress and unusual breaking strain of spider silk fibres vs. silkworm silk fibres can be interpreted according to the synergistically correlated hierarchical structures of the domain and crystal networks, which can be quantified by the hierarchical structural correlation and the four structural parameters. Based on the concept of crystal networks, the new understanding acquired will transfer the research and engineering of mesoscopic materials, particularly, soft functional materials, to a new phase.